Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2007
Capstone Advisor
Lorraine Herbst
Honors Reader
Chandra Talpade Mohanty
Capstone Major
Women's and Gender Studies
Capstone College
Arts and Science
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Social Sciences
Subject Categories
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Women's Studies
Abstract
The state of Kashmir is positioned betweenIndia,PakistanandChina. The region has been the site of four wars since 1947 in the name of claiming a nation. There is an ongoing ethnic and religious battle betweenIndia(Hindu majority) andPakistan(Muslim majority) over who can claim the state ofKashmir. As part of this battle, the people ofKashmirhave been deeply affected as targets of militancy. In particular, Kashmiri Pandit women, those who are religiously rooted as Hindus, have seen violence and trauma as Muslim militant forces have invaded women’s “homes” inside the state and within their physical “homes” to inflict violence in the name of the “nation.”
This thesis will look at the meaning of “home”. Herstories of three Pandit Kashmiri women in the post-partition era will be examined. Their voices and experiences demonstrate how nationalisms, masculinity and sexual violence have created a (dis)appearance of “home” in the making of a nation. In addition, other important themes and issues arose during the research for this project. These include both the loss of belonging and feelings of longing for many displaced Pandit women fromKashmir. Further, examinations of how the Kashmiri Pandit diaspora has begun constructing a new identity as a result of displacement are important. How does the scattering of a group of people with a shared history and culture contribute to new identities away from a “home”land? Diaspora has had profound effects on how women relate to their territorial “home” ofKashmir, and this thesis investigates how diaspora and new or reconfigured identities influence women’s “homes.”
Recommended Citation
Show, Christine, "(Re)shaping “Homes” in Kashmir: The Impact of War on Kashmiri Pandit Women’s Lives in the Name of Nation" (2007). Honors Capstone Projects - All. 583.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/583
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